Theme: God sees light in the midst of darkness.
Scripture Readings: 1 Sam. 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Ps. 22:1-6; Eph. 5:8-14; Jn. 9:1-41
Dr. Babu Philip tells a story of a blind man; one day, a blind man went to visit his friend in the next village; however, he could only return by nightfall. The friend gave the blind man a lighted lamp as he said goodbye to him. Refusing to receive the lamp, the blind man said, “I don’t need this lamp, dear, I will use my stick to find my way for nights and days are similar to me.” His friend said, “Keep it; it is not for you, but for others, if you carry this lighted lamp, others will see it and they will not collide with you.”
The blind man started his journey carrying the lighted lamp with him. On the way, there was a storm, so he waited under a tree and resumed his journey after the storm subsided. Suddenly a stranger coming from the opposite direction collided with him and both of them fell. The blind man shouted angrily, “Couldn’t you see the lighted lamp in my hand? Are you blind?” The stranger replied, “I am not blind but your lamp was not burning.” “I am sorry,” said the blind man. “I am blind and did not know that the flame was put off by the storm.”
Sometimes we do not know that we are blind but we pretend as though we know everything. In today’s liturgy, we find a few blind whom God guides to light.
In the first reading, after the rejection of King Saul, God sent Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem. Jesse had seven sons. The book of Chronicles names them as follows: Eliab, Abinadab, Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem and David. Samuel was fascinated by the outer look of Jesse’s sons. Samuel was blind; he could not understand that God sees the heart of the man. God did not choose the seven sons of Jesse who had the potential to be the kings of Israel, though they were present for the festive dinner. God had different plans i.e. Jesse’s youngest son, David.
Now, David had a low status in the eyes of the world because Jesse never introduced David to Samuel in the beginning of his conversation. Secondly, Jesse did not even call David for the sacrificial feast with Samuel. Thirdly, David was called at the request of Samuel. The Lord prompted Samuel to anoint David as soon as he saw him. Samuel and Jesse, though they were wise and old, failed to see a future in David. But God saw a light burning in the heart of David in-spite of his nothingness.
In the second reading, St. Paul reminds the Ephesians that they lived in darkness, which means that their lives were full of sin. They practiced fornication, uncleanliness or covetousness, etc. St. Paul goes further and says that they were not only in darkness, but they were darkness itself.
All this was the previous life of Christians; for after their baptism in Christ, they were called to live life in the light of Christ. Perhaps, he was so confident to say it because he himself was living in darkness at one point of time in his life. It was only when Jesus, the light, struck him and he was made aware of the darkness in which he led his life. No one thought Saul would become Paul. His life became light to many, till this day. God illumined the life of St. Paul who persecuted Christians. God saw a light burning in the heart of Paul who was seen as the persecutor of Christians.
In the Gospel, Jesus cures the blind man. Jesus was walking when he saw a man who was blind from birth. Instead of helping the man, the disciples were trying to understand the cause of his blindness. However, Jesus healed the beggar at the beginning of the episode; he not only received his physical sight but also spiritual sight. The man gradually grows in understanding the true identity of Christ. He first calls Jesus a man, then a prophet, then one from God and finally the Lord.
The blind man was accused for his ancestral sins, since some Jews believed the blindness from the birth came from the unrepentant sinfulness of ancestors. After receiving his physical sight, the former blind man was persecuted by the Pharisees. He was questioned; his parents were questioned. They re-questioned him. At every step of the persecution, he went on developing his belief in Jesus. He owned up his responsibility, since his parents told him to speak for himself. He was growing in faith whereas the Pharisees were moving away from Jesus. Jesus saw light in the life of the blind man therefore He said, “he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him”.
In every example in today’s liturgy, we are reminded that God is in total control of everything. He does not perceive the way we perceive. Samuel, the Ephesians, the Pharisees could not perceive God’s plan. We might be in the same situation; today we are battling with the dreaded disease COVID 19; we are all anxious and worried. The death toll is rising daily; it is engulfing countries into its clutches and we are clueless. And although many countries have claimed a breakthrough in finding a cure, yet nothing is certain. Everything seems to have come to a halt; the economy is in a mess. The government is trying its best to curb the spread; even the most developed countries seem to be struggling in dealing with this virus. Churches, temples and Masjids are closed down and the temples of social work are opened i.e. hospitals and police stations. The darkness seems to be surrounding us with fear and anxiety. God seems to be silent in these dark times.
The liturgy today reminds us that we have made our lives full of darkness due to our sins just like the people of Ephesians. We have extinguished the light of Christ in our lives due to our because of our unrepentant sinfulness. We are focussing on the outer remedies that would help us in our difficulties, rather turning to God who waits to talk to us, just like He did to Samuel. We have become modern-day Pharisees. We are only interested to point out flaws in the system. We are not ready to accept that God has the power to heal us from illness in which we were born. Let us turn to Jesus, the light of the world in these moments of the darkness of COVID 19; Jesus has never refused his mercy to those who have turned to him.
Let us pray:
Jesus, the light of the world; shower your light and mercy upon us to bring healing on earth in these moments of fear and anxiety. Protect us from all that wish to harm us. Let your fire burn everything that is evil in this world. May your love be upon us Oh Jesus that we place our hope in you. Amen.
Fr. Alex D’Mello
